The Jersey Experiment
by IamBionic23
Summary: Leonard's sister found a cure for diabetes and is being honored in New Jersey. This is the perfect opportunity for Leonard and Penny to take a trip away from Pasadena.
1. The Call Back Home

**Hello Everyone! It's my second fan-fic! I'm hoping to make this one a very long and intriguing one and I'll try and post chapters as fast as I can even with a busy schedule. Hope you all enjoy and please Rate and Review! -T.S**

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><p>It was the third Thursday in June which means it was "Anything Can Happen Thursday." The guys decided to order Pizza from Giacomo's and watch season 3 of "Star Trek: TOS" with commentary.<p>

"I'd have to say, the last season of Star Trek is below it's original standards that it held during the first two seasons." Sheldon complained.

Howard cut in, "The show knew it's fate, so why not go all out."

"I understand your point Howard, but.." There was a knock at the door. Leonard got up from the couch to answer it.

"That will be $19.75," the delivery boy said.

"Here's 22, keep the change." Leonard handed him the money and grabbed the pizza's to put on the table.

Leonard walked back to sit down when another knock was heard. It was Penny. Leonard got up again to open the door.

"Hey Honey, " Penny said sweetly as she gave him a quick kiss.

"Hey, we were just about to start watching season 3 of Star Trek"

"Ohh, yay!" Penny replied sarcastically, but enthusiastically.

Penny pulled up a seat next to Leonard. All of them began to start eating while Leonard opened his spaghetti and meatballs he ordered.

Leonard went to Netflix through their Xbox to put on "Star Trek."

"Who else is ready for letdown?" Sheldon asked sarcastically.

"Sheldon, the episodes already have commentary, we don't need anymore from you." Howard snapped back.

"Alright Howard, but I'll have you know.."

"Shh, it's starting" Leonard cut in.

Sheldon stopped talking and sat back in his spot, eating his pizza. The gang was eating when they phone rang.

"I'll get it" Leonard said.

_Hello?_

_Oh Hi Mother, how are you?_

_I'm fine, thanks for asking._

_This weekend? Umm..yeah I'll catch a flight out this weekend. Why on such short notice?_

_Ohh, I see. Well can Penny come?_

_Ok, see you soon._

"What did you mother want?" Sheldon questioned.

"My sister found a cure for diabetes. Her department is honoring her this weekend at

the Medical Society of New Jersey conference this weekend."

"Why did you ask if I could go?" Penny asked.

"Because I cannot keep my sanity around my family and I would like you to come. We can tour parts of New Jersey if you want as well."

"Oh My God! Can we go to the Jersey Shore?"

"Sure, whatever you want to do." Leonard replied as he gave her a small smile. "The only thing is, we have to catch a flight by tomorrow evening so you need to start packing..probably now." "On the other hand, I need to schedule a flight to Jersey."

Leonard left the living room to go in his room to schedule a flight for the two of them tomorrow. Penny, still in the living room with the guys started to get up to leave.

"Sorry guys, enjoy the rest of Star Trek."

Penny exited the apartment as Sheldon, Raj, and Howard looked around at each other.

"Well since the happy couple is gone, do you mind if we get back to 'Anything Can Happen Thursday?'" Howard asked sarcastically.

"Even though you don't have a Ph.D, I do find satisfaction in your logic." Sheldon replied

Howard gave Sheldon a look of derision, and the three of them continued to watch the beginning of "Spock's Brain" and finish their dinner.


	2. Childhood Memories

Leonard sat on his bed and turned on his laptop. His search for an affordable flight to New Jersey for tomorrow evening was on. He debated on whether or not to find a hotel room. _Do I really want to stay with mother? ...Definitely not. _Finding a hotel room and a plane ticket for two would be tough, but he had all night to book a flight and a hotel room. He checked multiple websites for a hotel and a flight. He finally came across a flight that would land in Philadelphia and a hotel near his mother's house in Princeton. _Ahh, Perfect._ He scrolled down to the end of the page only to realize the price was over a $1,000 per person. Fortunately, he always had spare money just in case something like this were to occur. Leonard didn't mind paying for Penny, after all she was his girlfriend and he did want her to come. He book the flight and hotel. He decided to stay a few extra days in Jersey so he could go sightseeing with Penny. Even though this trip was based around his sister's accomplishments, it was a mini vacation for them both.

Penny's mind was going a mile a minute, looking for the cutest outfits her trip to New Jersey, she managed to tear her closet apart. Clothes were scattered around her room, bed, and some even managed to make their way to her bathroom. _I need to take this bathing suit, and this cute top.. _Penny felt like she was shopping, picking out her outfits. She never been to the East Coast before. She always imagined it was like she seen on television. Full of guys who are tan and muscular and brunettes who were Italian and had New York accents.

Penny began to bring some type of order to her room, putting various clothes in her suitcases as well as checking for items she might need to purchase. She realized she would only need to purchase small toiletries for the trip which she could go get as soon as she was done packing. As Penny was putting clothes in her suitcase, she heard her phone vibrate. Throwing the rest of her clothes off the bed to find it, she saw that Leonard had texted her.

_Flight leaves tomorrow at 7:42 a.m. Need to go to the store to get a few things..want to come?_

Penny thought to herself _Perfect timing. _

_Yeah, I needed to pick up toiletries anyway. Just call me when you're ready. _

Leonard had to finish some packing before he could head out to the store. He knew from his childhood that New Jersey could be hot during June, so he scavenged his room to look for shorts. He had already packed dress clothes, t-shirts, sneakers, and the one bathing suit he owned. He figured he needed to buy a pair of flip-flops, since Penny would want to head to the beach as soon as possible. He thought to himself, _Beach. Hmm, maybe I could rent a hotel room near the beach. _

Leonard turned his laptop back on and looked for a hotel room near Wildwood. When Leonard's Uncle Floyd would take him to the shore, he would always take Leonard and his brother and sister to Wildwood. Wildwood has a reputation of having the best beach in New Jersey. Every summer, Leonard's Uncle would take them down to Wildwood for a weekend. Leonard's favorite part of the shore was the boardwalk. He loved to play the crane machines in the arcades. He always saw it as a challenge to try and beat the machine at it's own game. More often than not, Leonard was successful at winning a prize in the machine.

One fond memory Leonard had was when he was eight. Uncle Floyd always rented a hotel room near the end of the boardwalk which was the closest to the beach. He woke up one morning around 5 a.m. He woke up his Uncle Floyd wanting to go see the sunrise.

_Uncle Floyd! Uncle Floyd! Wake up!_

_What's wrong Leonard?_

_Can we go watch the sunrise?_

_Uhhh, yeah sure we can Len. Let's go before your Aunt wakes up._

Even though it was 5 a.m., Floyd couldn't be mad at Leonard, he simply smiled. His brother and sister were still sound asleep with his Aunt Christine in the other room. They both left the hotel room while it was still dark. They made their way onto the beach and found a spot just before the wet sand touched the dry. Leonard and his Uncle watched the sunrise. Leonard thought back to his amazement the first time he saw the sun rise.

He knew Penny would be in awe as well and he definitely had to book a hotel room in Wildwood.

As Leonard searched for a hotel room, he thought about what time of the year it is. _Dammit, prom season._ Leonard knew he would have a slim chance finding a hotel during this time of the year on such short notice. After searching Google for about 20 minutes, he came across a small hotel named "Casa Del Sol" that could possibly have an opening during this week. He found the number and tried his luck.

"Hello, I'm looking to see if you have a hotel room open anytime this week."

"Hi," the receptionist said, "We just had a cancellation for Tuesday of this week."

"That's Perfect," Leonard said excitedly "How much per night?"

"It's $125 per night and the room is only open until Thursday."

"That's fine, I'll take it."

Leonard exchanged information with the receptionist and hung up the phone. While trying to make these plans, he completely forgot he asked Penny to go to the store.

_Let me call her real quick_

"Penny?"

"Are we going or no?"

"Yeah we are, sorry. I was straightening stuff out for the trip."

"Alright, I'll be right over."

"Sounds good." Leonard said as he hung up the phone.

Leonard wanted Wildwood to be a surprise for Penny. He was so excited about this plan that he was grinning from ear to ear. _Don't blow the surprise, don't blow the surprise. _He grabbed his phone and his wallet and made his way out of his room into the living room.

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Hey you" Leonard said with a smile "Let's go get the rest of our stuff for tomorrow."

They both made their way out of the apartment into Leonard's car, on their way to get the finishing touches for their trip to New Jersey tomorrow.


	3. Finishing Touches

**Chapter 3 is a bit short but I promise Chapter 4 will be longer! Hope everyone is enjoying The Jersey Experiment. Please Rate and Review. I'm always looking for some feedback to make this story better! :) -T.S**

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><p>Leonard and Penny were on their way home from Target after getting small toiletries for their trip in the morning.<p>

"I'm so excited to head to New Jersey." Penny exclaimed. " I always imagined New Jersey filled with beaches and tan people and very green."

Leonard chuckled a bit. "Sorry to disappoint you, but New Jersey is nothing like what's on Jersey Shore." Leonard also added, " Just because it's called the 'Garden State' doesn't make New Jersey environmentally friendly. There's nothing special about New Jersey."

"Well that's easy for you to say," Penny interrupted. "You grew up in Jersey. I never been anywhere near the East Coast...What are we gonna do after your sister's ceremony?"

"I didn't want to say this yet, but I planned a surprise for you. But after that..."

Penny interrupted Leonard, "Surprise? What is it?"

"You really think I'm going to tell you the surprise?" Leonard laughed. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Ughh, you're really gonna make me wait aren't you?"

"Yup." Leonard replied while nodding his head.

Leonard glanced up at the car clock. _9:47_ it read. "You know that we have to be up by 4 to make it to the airport by 5?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about that actually...How much more packing do you have to do?" Penny asked.

"Just small stuff, and then making sure I didn't forget to pack anything. Are you almost done?"

"Almost. I literally destroyed my entire closet trying to find clothes. I need to pack small stuff as well and try and put all of my clothes away that ended up on the floor." Penny laughed.

They arrived back at the apartment. Leonard grabbed all of the bags and followed Penny up the stairs. "Well since you have packing to do, I'll just call you in the morning to make sure your up." Leonard said to Penny as they both got up to the third floor.

"You're not gonna spend the night?" Penny questioned Leonard.

"I figured if you still have stuff to do, I'll leave you to get it done." Leonard replied.

"Well, I mean, you could help me if you'd like. I wouldn't mind having someone help me put my closet back together."

"Alright, well I have to finish packing my stuff and then I'll come over. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me." Penny smiled as they reached the fourth floor.

They both parted ways. Leonard entered 4A with his bag and walked towards his room. Sheldon was already in his room, to Leonard's knowledge either sleeping or reading a book on his Kindle. The apartment was dim, the only lights that could be seen were the streetlights that lit Los Robles Avenue. Leonard entered his room and packed the rest of his belongings. The only thing he didn't pack was his laptop. He hadn't printed out the tickets yet and was going to bring his laptop as a carry-on anyways. With his laptop laying on his bed, Leonard zipped up his suitcase and grabbed his laptop. He tried not to make much noise for the fact that he didn't want to disturb Sheldon. He made his way to the living room and placed his laptop on his desk. He printed out the tickets and made his way to Penny's apartment. As he left 4A, he looked at the tickets and smiled.


	4. Bringing Back Order

**New Chapter! Sorry for the delay! I hope everyone enjoys and as always, rate and review! P.S. Hi Casey! -T.S.**

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><p>Leonard made his way to Penny's apartment, pulling his bags in his left hand and holding the boarding tickets in his right. He didn't have to knock, Penny's door was unlocked. He dropped his bags near her couch. Penny wasn't in the living room, so Leonard walked to the bedroom. Penny was trying to put together her closet that she destroyed in the process of packing.<p>

"Need a little help?" Leonard said jokingly.

"Uhh, no I think I'm good." Penny replied sarcastically

Leonard joined Penny in her effort to clean her room before they went to sleep. There was some type of order to her room, but not in the condition it once was before the trip came into focus.

As Leonard was helping Penny start to hang clothes back up in her closet, he turned to her. "Are you nervous at all for tomorrow?"

"Ehhh, kinda. For one thing, I haven't been on a plane since I left Nebraska, and two, I haven't seen your mother since we had a wild night at the Cheesecake Factory."

"Well, there's nothing to be worried about during the flight. Airport Security is pretty secure and you get to sit next to me for the entire flight." Leonard smiled briefly. "And just to add, don't worry too much about my mother. According to Sheldon, my mother is somewhat fond of you, which is saying something. I'm her son and I don't think she's very fond of me."

"Aww, Leonard..don't say that. I'm sure she cares for you." Penny said to him, looking at him with a sympathetic grin.

"I'm not doubting that she doesn't care, but in her eyes, I'm considered the 'dark horse' of the family."

"Well look at it this way, we aren't heading to Jersey for your mother. We are going there for your sister." The clothes were almost back in order. Penny put one of the last shirts on her hanger.

"You have a point.." Leonard glanced at Penny for a moment and looked into her closet.

"Do you think your sister will like me?" Penny questioned.

"Why wouldn't she?" Leonard replied curiously.

"Well maybe she's like your mother, or she has a different personality than you do."

"My sister has some similarities of my mother, but she has a personality similar to mine. She's very friendly and warm and also very humble about her work. She has made a huge contribution to the science and medical field through her discovery and she wouldn't accept the money that Princeton wanted to give her. I guess I look up to her in a way, I mean hopefully I can make a major contribution to the world of experimental physics one day."

"Aww, Leonard. It seems you really care for your sister and you're proud of her. That's so cute!"

"Of course I care about her, we are more alike than anyone else in my family. According to my mother though, she's the most successful than my brother and I."

Penny put her last piece of clothing in her closet and turned to Leonard. "Well no matter what your mother thinks about you, you're the most successful person I know." She put her arms around Leonard's neck and gave him a quick kiss. "Well, since we're done packing, how about we get ready for bed."

"Sounds good to me. You know we have to be up by 4 right?" Leonard questioned.

"Yeah I know, but the best part is, your shoulder will be the best pillow on the flight." Penny smiled.

Leonard smiled back, "Alright, well let me just change my clothes real quick."

"Are you leaving to go back to the apartment?"

"Yeah, I didn't really think this through," Leonard laughed.

"Well go get changed, I'll be waiting for you." Penny said promiscuously. Leonard looked at her and gave her a grin and walked out of her apartment.

Penny went to put pajamas but realized that she forgot she didn't take a shower during the day. _Hmm, should I wait until we make it to Jersey..Nope. _The door was open so she knew Leonard would walk right in, so she make her way into her bathroom and hopped into the shower.

Leonard had just finished changing. He had his normal red robe on, with a white undershirt and his green boxers on. He didn't want to wake Sheldon up so he tipped toed his way out of the apartment, barely making a sound in the process. He entered Penny's apartment only to hear the water running. He went into the bedroom and went in her bed. He knew that she would wake him up when she got out of the shower, but he was so exhausted that he needed to lay down.

As Leonard closed his eyes, his mind began to head into a dream. With all the thoughts of heading back home, he imagined their trip down to Wildwood. He dreamed Penny was excited for her surprise. As soon as they arrived at the hotel, she would want to get to the beach. He started to dream about them on the boardwalk holding hands...

"Leonard, wake up!" Penny said loudly, which startled Leonard a bit.

"Sorry, I'm pretty exhausted from everything today. This day felt a bit rushed," he said sounding like he had just woken up from a full night's sleep.

Penny snuggled in next to Leonard, putting her arm around his torso. She felt so comfy next to him. She knew that it would be rough waking up at 4 a.m. tomorrow but if she was next to Leonard, she was content.

"Hey Leonard..." Penny whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to tell you thank you for bringing me to Jersey and I can't wait to spend the week with you."

Leonard turned into her to look her directly in the eyes. " I wouldn't want to bring anyone else with me. And of course you're welcome." He put his hands on her face and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. Penny turned over and they fell asleep in each others arms.


End file.
